Door stop

ABSTRACT

A stop for a door especially a refrigerator door which is made up of a block of rigid and/or resilient material with a magnet supported in one side of it, the material being of such weight that it can be supported by magnetic force. The magnet holds the block to a doorjamb in the path of the swinging door. Thus, the door is retained open a crack for ventilation and for other purposes.

Q Un ted States Patent 1151 3,636,727

Nau hton 1 Jan. 25 1972 [54] DOOR STOP 2,217,514 10/1940 Henry ..248/206 A 2,300,303 10/1942 Morrison ..62/409 1 lnvemofl James Gordon Nauflhmn, 2,977,082 3/1961 Harris .248/206 A [73] Assign: Funk Endun, Jr Erie, pav 3,244,443 4/1966 Rodgers. .....292/25l.5 3,365,684 1/1968 Stemke ..248/206 A [22] Filed: Sept. 24, 1969 Primary Examiner-William J. Wye [21] Appl' 860543 Attorney-Charles L. Lovercheck 52 us. (:1 ..62/409, 248/206, 292/251.5, 57 ABSTRACT 4 l 5 I] Int Cl Fzsd A stop for a door especially a refrigerator door which is made I 58] Fieid 292/251 up of a block of rigid and/or resilient material with a magnet 16 supported in one side of it, the material being of such weight that it can be supported by magnetic force. The magnet holds the block to a doorjamb in the path of the swinging door. [56] References cited Thus, the door is retained open a crack for ventilation and for UNITED STATES PATENTS other P p 2,l35,09l 1 1/1938 lfleyill u u, ....62/1Q 1 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Z 9 ll Z 9 ,/ZZ

1 noon STOP REFERENCE TO PRIOR ART US. Pat. No. 2,300,303 shows a refrigerator having a hinged door stop which is expensive to construct and is inconvenient to use.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a refrigerator with doors and a door stop according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the door stop according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of one embodiment of the insert.

FIG. 4 is a side view of one embodiment of the magnet insert.

FIG. 5 is a top view another embodiment of the magnet insert.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the insert.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRQWINGS Now with more particular reference to the drawings, a refrigerator 22 is shown having the door stop affixed to the doorjamb 25. The swinging doors are made up of a door 23 and door 24, each having an edge 26 and 27 respectively, remote from the hinged side thereof. The doors have handles 28 and 29 respectively and the doors 23 and 24 swing into engagement with the door jamb 25. The stops 10 are supported by means of the magnetic insert in the form of a permanent magnet 11 which is molded into or otherwise attached to the door stop. The door stop may be made of a foam material and may also be made of a hard rubber material. The stop is preferably made of a foam plastic material such as polyurethane or styrofoam, however, the stop could be made from any foam plastic material, including polystyrene, injection molded vinyl or polyethylene or even balsa wood, heavy corrugated cardboard, or any other material that is not too rigid so that the refrigerator door will not be injured when it swings into it.

The permanent magnet I l is relatively thin and may be approximately the size of a silver IO-cent piece.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the permanent magnet 111 is of square configuration. Obviously, it could be hexagonal or any other desired shape. The body of the stop 10 is preferably about 1 inch thick and about 2 X3 inches in lateral dimensions. FIG. 3 and 4 show a rectangular shaped magnet which could be used in the door stop shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIGS. 5 and 6 show the magnet 11 of the door stop shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The letters N and S in FIGS.

3, 4, 5 and 6 indicate North and South polarity of the magnets.

The foregoing specification sets forth the invention in its preferred practical forms but the structure shown is capable of modification within a range of equivalents without departing from the invention which is to be understood is broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claims.

The embodimentsof the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In combination, a refrigerator having a door, a doorjamb made of magnetic material, and a door stop, said stop being made of a block of resilient flexible material having a permanent magnet imbedded in one surface thereof,

said stop comprising a body generally rectangular in cross 

1. In combination, a refrigerator having a door, a doorjamb made of magnetic material, and a door stop, said stop being made of a block of resilient flexible material having a permanent magnet imbedded in one surface thereof, said stop comprising a body generally rectangular in cross section having at least two generally parallel sides and made of a foam plastic material, said door stop being supported on said doorjamb by said magnet, said door being swingable into engagement with said stop whereby said door is held open slightly and is prevented from fully closing. 